


Open Roads

by Karios



Category: Laverne & Shirley (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Carmine Ragusa Being the Boyfriend Shirley Feeney Deserves, Episode: s03e14 The Horse Show, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Road Trips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 07:09:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27179708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karios/pseuds/Karios
Summary: Carmine agreed to find a home for Buttercup, if Shirley went with him.
Relationships: Laverne DeFazio & Shirley Feeney, Shirley Feeney/Carmine Ragusa
Comments: 5
Kudos: 5
Collections: Shipoween 2020 - The Halloween Ship Exchange!





	Open Roads

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Missy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Missy/gifts).



> Happy Halloween, Missy!
> 
> This was originally meant to be a simple zany road trip fic, but Shirley had a lot of feelings and demanded I write about them.
> 
> Thank you to my beta who I will credit after reveals.

Shirley knew what she was asking of Carmine, driving all over the state of Wisconsin to 'check every two-bit farm and ranch' to find a home for Buttercup. A big ask that a single, heated kiss didn't quite cover. She'd anticipated upgrading from thank you note to gas money, or getting him a gift, even.

Shirley did not expect Carmine to say. "Fine, I'll do it, but you gotta come with me."

Shirley knew she should turn him down flat. Good girls did not go on trips with their steady boyfriends unless they wanted to get themselves into trouble. Especially not when the invitation to said trip came immediately after she had kissed Carmine as persuasively as possible. Refusing should have been obvious, yet Shirley hesitated.

"You want to save Buttercup, don't you? This way you can make sure he finds a good home," Carmine pressed.

"Of course I want to, but I have work." It was a feeble excuse, even though it was true.

Carmine shot it down quickly with, "Get someone to trade shifts with you. We'll only be gone a couple of days."

Shirley knew she could probably find someone to agree, if she wanted to go. What caught her off guard was the realization that she did want to go, and not only for Buttercup's sake.

It might have been different if Mr. Gruber's threats weren't looming over them. If Shirley had time to think, she probably would've decided it was too reckless. As things stood, she finally said, "Okay. We'll go together."

Carmine no longer looked put out, and that was an improvement. Then he leaned in and kissed her again, briefly and more sweetly, which was even better. "I'll be back real soon. Gotta gas up and grab a few things."

"Right, I should pack, I guess."

"See you in a bit, Angelface." Carmine let himself out, whistling a cheery tune.

* * *

As soon as the door shut behind him, nerves started to set in. No organization, no real planning. It was crazy, really. Shirley shoved those thoughts aside for now; there simply wasn't time for second-guessing. She just needed to keep busy.

She gave Buttercup a scritch between his eyes. “We have a plan now, don’t you worry,” she murmured and grabbed an overnight bag. She tossed a set of PJs inside.

"I thought you'd have to do something, but marrying the guy, wow," Laverne teased.

"We're not engaged," Shirley clarified while grabbing a blouse. "We're just going away together...to look at farms for Buttercup."

Hearing it said out loud made it sound worse. The way Laverne grinned at her wasn't helping.

"Don't do that!" Shirley chucked the blouse into the bag and snatched up a sweater more angrily than the fabric deserved.

"I didn't say nothing."

"It's the way you're looking at me." Shirley's voice took on that higher pitch reserved for times of acute stress, and it grated against her own ears. "You're right, though. I shouldn't go."

"I don't think that, but it sounds like you think that."

Shirley nodded. Her hands twisted her sweater into a ball.

"If you don't want to go, then don't go." Laverne moved in and gently pried the yarn bundle from Shirley's fingers.

"And if I do want to go?"

"Then Shirl, this is Carmine, he's not someone you just met. He's not going to ask you to do anything you don't want to do."

“You really think so?”

“I know so,” Laverne corrected.

Shirley shook herself out. She really was being silly. Resolve renewed, she finished grabbing the essentials: socks, slacks, underthings, toothbrush. Laverne helped her fold everything in companionable silence. As Shirley hefted the bag up, Laverne stopped her with, "And Shirl?"

Shirley looked up at her best friend. "Yeah?"

"If you and Carmine do decide anything's gonna happen, I'd never think less of you."

From anyone else, that would have been a dig, but Laverne was being sincere. 

“That means a lot,” Shirley paused only briefly before adding, “I won't stop telling you to be careful just because you said that.”

Laverne snorted. “You wouldn't be you if you did.”

A round of meaningful hugs and goodbyes followed. Laverne promised Shirley more than once that she’d find somewhere to stash and guard Buttercup until Shirley got back. Getting someone to cover her shifts at Shotz kept Shirley busy until Carmine picked her up.

* * *

It was nearly dinnertime once she and Carmine finally got on the road in earnest, so they grabbed hamburgers that they could eat in the car, and both of them agreed to driving through the night so they could cover more ground, rather than stop off somewhere to sleep. Two of the places they checked on that first day weren't interested in a new horse at all, and the last couldn't afford any new expenditures.

Although they were only getting by on a series of cat naps, their second day of searching was lively and upbeat. In between important moments of navigating, they found time to chat and sang along to radio when it came in clear. Getting to the next prospective farm was always top of mind, but it was also fun looking out the car window at parts of Wisconsin that weren’t just what’s between home and Chicago.

While Shirley might have been having fun, she definitely wasn't having any luck. None of the spots they stop at come close to being a good home for Buttercup. One ranch was unkempt, another rundown, another too small. They found a farm which had seemed promising, until its owner realized Buttercup would need a quiet retirement. The last guy they spoke to before they stopped off for dinner had had a good plot of land, but the man himself had given both Shirley and Carmine the creeps.

With each fresh disappointment, Shirley worried that Carmine might get upset and call the search off. Instead, he seemed to agree with each of her objections. She broached the subject when they pulled into a diner anyway, just to be sure. “I'm not being too picky, am I?”

“No, we’ve gotten this far. We owe it to Buttercup, and everyone you roped into this, to find somewhere he’ll be safe and happy. We’re seeing this through as long as you want to, I’ll be here.”

Thank you didn't seem adequate enough, so she kissed him again and hoped it conveyed some of the gratitude she didn't have words to express. Shirley hadn't expected him to go this far, but then Carmine had always believed in her goals. Now here he was helping one come true. If she could keep her eyes open tonight long enough to write, her diary would get a fresh page extolling his virtues.

They picked at a pair of bland blue plate specials, and for once she didn't wish she could afford better. For the first time, Shirley wondered if she’d been chasing the wrong things.

In the opposite booth, Carmine yawned and stretched. “What do you say we make one more stop before we find somewhere with an empty room and double beds?”

Shirley smiled. “Yeah, one more try.”

* * *

That final stop turned out to be another small family farm that didn’t have room for Buttercup. However, the couple who lived there, Mr. and Mrs. Woodley, were happy to offer two weary roadtrippers each a free room for the night. Carmine took the guest room, while Shirley bunked on a bed that had previously belonged to the homeowners' newly married daughter.

The Woodleys reminded Shirley of wooden Christmas dolls, and possessed the cheer to match. Shirley thanked Mrs. Woodley again, as she emerged from the bathroom to find her host tucking in fresh sheets. “You didn't have to go to any trouble,” Shirley added.

“It really isn't a bother. We’ve been lonely here without Janie around. It'll be good to have younger people underfoot even if only for one night. Please, do say you’ll stay for breakfast. If you’ll forgive an old woman some immodesty, we have the best eggs for miles.”

That was how the next morning, Shirley found herself recounting to the Woodleys why she and Carmine were rehoming a horse with the strategy of the Fuller Brush Man. The story tumbled out between mouthfuls of perfectly fried eggs and the fluffiest golden waffles she’d ever had. “So you see, we only have a few more days to save poor Buttercup,” she finished. "If you point us to anybody who might be willing to find a home for him, you’d be doing us a world of good.”

“Delores!” Mrs. Woodley said suddenly.

Mr. Woodley snapped his fingers. "That's perfect. For that new boy of hers."

"Who? What now?" Carmine asked.

Mrs. Woodley smiled. “A friend of mine, Delores, snapped up a younger man who fancies himself a bit of a cowboy—”

“—All of the money, none of the skills or sense," Mr. Woodley interrupted.

"You old coot, pipe down." Mrs. Woodley's smile dimmed for only a moment before she turned back to Shirley. "Anyway, dears, that beau of hers has a little boy. As long as your Buttercup wouldn't mind a ride or two now and then, I think he'll fit right in."

* * *

When they pulled up at the address the Woodleys had given them, Shirley and Carmine immediately agreed that it seemed perfect. There was a lot to like. Delores already kept one horse on the premises, so Buttercup wouldn't be lonely. Buttercup and his new friend would have plenty of space and fresh air. In spite of Mr. Woodley's jokes, Delores's new husband, Jimmy, seemed perfectly competent, in Shirley’s opinion. 

So long as Jimmy and Delores were as excited about Buttercup as Shirley was about this ranch, Buttercup would have a good home. So far, the odds looked good. Jimmy and Carmine had been chatting for a while by the time Shirley slipped away to head back to the car. It was a dry, windy day and she wanted to fetch her thermos and maybe dip into the snacks Mrs. Woodley had packed for them.

She grabbed the carrot sticks to take back with her. If Carmine and Jimmy didn't want any, she could at least see about meeting the other horse. As she neared Carmine, something about the way he said, “Look, I'm going to level with you," sent Shirley ducking behind a tree.

"It's your time, city slicker," Jimmy replied, which proved Mr. Woodley had a bit of a point.

"The girl I'm with, Shirley, we've been together for years now. I want to marry that girl and have a family and build a life together. I’m telling you, I won't be able to do that if you don't buy this old horse."

There was a pause. Shirley nearly gave up her hiding spot to ask Carmine a few questions about what he was doing, when he started talking again.

"I know that doesn't sound like it makes any sense, but more than anything she needs to know I can take care of her, and keep the things that are important to her safe. So, please, man-to-man, will you cut a guy a break?"

"Shirley!" Jimmy called out. Rats, of course he'd seen her. “You should come on out now, ma’am.”

Shirley stumbled out from behind the tree, nearly tripping over a large root. "Yes?"

Carmine shot her a rather scandalized look. "How long have you been standing there?"

“Long enough to hear what you had to say,” Jimmy answered for her. "Ma'am, I know it’s none of my business, but I suggest you best kiss this boyfriend of yours while I draw up some papers for your horse."

"Really? You're really going to take Buttercup?"

Jimmy nodded and in that moment, she could have kissed him too. Instead, she took Jimmy's advice and rushed to Carmine, jumping up into his arms. "You did it! You wonderful saint of a man."

* * *

They took a moment to celebrate right out there in the field. Shirley was over the moon, and she wasn’t sure what part of the giddiness she was feeling was victory, and what was attributable to Carmine’s eager kisses, but it was all very nice. She thought she could have easily stood there holding him close until they both froze out there together, but Carmine eventually set her back down. He even finger-brushed the places where he’d disheveled her hair, so she didn't feel self-conscious when Jimmy and Delores invited them inside.

Negotiations for arrangements were mostly hassle-free. Jimmy wanted Buttercup delivered, which was a new challenge, but even that hurdle couldn't dampen her spirits now. All Shirley wanted was the right to visit Buttercup, and she was assured that guests would be welcome anytime. Shirley was glad she didn't have to decide anything complicated, considering she got distracted every time she looked over at Carmine.

They were barely back in the car before they kissed again. It was strange and yet familiar at all once, and part of her never wanted to stop, and yet, she had to ask.

“Do you mean it? Everything you said before,” she asked at a volume barely above a whisper.

“Of course I meant it. I wouldn't go lying about that.” He gently pushed her back and his eyes bored into hers. “What makes you think I’d be lying about that?”

She had plenty of reasons actually, but she didn't want to get into them now. They had so much to sort out. For so long it hadn't seemed worth it, but now....

She took his hand. “I know you’d do your best by us.”

“Yeah, well...I can't believe I'm the one saying this, but we need to get back on the road if we want to make it back home before the middle of the night." He pulled his hand out of hers and gripped the steering wheel again.

Shirley felt a kind of disappointment she didn't expect. Here they were kicking the door open to something, and she knew once they got back home they'd slam it shut again. 

Shirley knew what she wanted and Carmine deserved to know it too.

"Would you think any less of me if I suggested we get a room?" she asked and her heart started hammering.

An invitation he promptly misunderstood. "Of course not, but we can probably just take a nap in the car, I don't see why—"

Though maybe spelling it out was important, clearly neither of them had done enough of that. "We have a lot to talk about, and depending on how things go, maybe something else that's long overdue."

A light of recognition went on behind Carmine's eyes. "I'd really like that. You're sure?"

Not exactly, she admitted to herself. It was frightening to consider rejecting rules she’d trusted in to guide her decisions for so long. But there was something about being all the way out here that made it easier to feel a little less constrained by everything she was supposed to be. She settled on saying, "Enough to want privacy."

Carmine addressed the rearview mirror. "My wife and I would like a room."

Shirley giggled. "What are you doing?" 

"Practicing. We gotta seem married if we're getting a hotel room together. Try not laughing the next time I say it, huh?"

"Oh, right. I won't." It was funny that lying about being married made it seem easier to consider her options. It was thrilling and comforting to know that no one for miles aroud would know any different and wouldn't be judging her.

The roads were still open and empty, so Carmine leaned over and stole a kiss that took Shirley by surprise. "Whatever you decide, temporary Mrs. Ragusa, I'm glad you came with me."

In spite of the uncertainty ahead, that much Shirley could agree on. "Me too."


End file.
